


The Empty Gaze

by ofdogsandwriting



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Blood, Brainwashing, Character Death, M/M, Sadness, Self Sacrifice, Sort Of, Vampires, brainless state, but also some fluff sprinkled in, kittens!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 06:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13969422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofdogsandwriting/pseuds/ofdogsandwriting
Summary: It’s been hundreds of years.Hundreds of years has he been followed by a hollowed man, a lover with a cold touch, without emotion, and without any thought. His only sense of thought was to obey any order given to him, he was only a mere mindless slave.





	The Empty Gaze

**Author's Note:**

> This was done for a gift exchange a couple years ago (that didn't necessarily end well), but at least the person I made the gift for liked it, I think! I thought I should post it here to keep an archive of all my fanfiction somewhere on- Archive of Our Own! c; 
> 
> Osamu: 2p!Japan  
> Thomas:2p!America  
> Viktor: 2p!Russia  
> Luciano: 2p!Italy

It’s been hundreds of years.

Hundreds of years has he been followed by a hollowed man, a lover with a cold touch, without emotion, and without any thought. His only sense of thought was to obey any order given to him, he was only a mere mindless slave.

He did not know this would happen, that the decision he made so long ago would have affected him so deeply, that his plan had never worked, but backfired, and now he has to face every consequence, every jolt of pain that made it to his supposed cold, dead heart from the mistake he made, but could not take back.

He managed for many years, convincing himself that everything would eventually work out, that his plan would work, that the mindless man would soon return, and treat him the same way just as he used to.

It never happened.

If he could go back to that very day, he would not have saved his life, Thomas’ life. Anything must have been better than this, to stare into those faded crimson eyes, and see nothing looking back.

He would not have wanted this, yet he still did it, adding on to his pent up guilt. He was not supposed to feel anything, yet he felt everything.

“Thomas, dear.”

“Yes, sire?”

“How many times have I told you to call me Osamu?”

“My sincerest apologies, I will make sure it never happens again.”

“Just- forget it.” Osamu shook his head.

Osamu enjoyed having power over others, being the one in control of the situation, and having the advantage, yet he did not want to be this time. That was what he missed most about Thomas. Thomas was beyond his control, he was unpredictable, he did what he wanted to without caring what others thought. He always had a rough exterior, but Osamu knew another, gentler side to him as well. Now, however, he had no personality, he was just a servant that Osamu never wanted, for he only ever wanted Thomas.

“Are you angry?”

It was a peculiar question, especially from a mindless vampire, but Osamu did not allow himself to get his hopes up.

He gestured for the other man to kneel down before him, and he did so. Osamu leaned forward from the couch he sat on, and extended a hand. His cold, slender fingers lightly ran over Thomas’ cheek, as though he were a delicate flower.

“No, of course not,” he said with a small, forced smile on his lips. Osamu only turned all of his anger towards himself, since Thomas was not the one to be blamed, he never was. Osamu had mistakenly chosen this path.

It was all long ago, but Osamu remembered every detail of the night he lost his lover that knelt before him.

He remembered how the weather had been, how the clouds hung over the sky, yet the sun was still free to shine over the land.

It started with the loud banging on his door, men and women alike trying to rip the wood from its hinges to get at the vampire inside. Somehow, Osamu’s hiding place had been discovered by the village, and they were not going to stop until the vampire was in their grasp. The sun had not set yet, though it was just resting on the horizon, but Osamu was unable to stay in his home for long. Although he lived in the deeper, darker part of the forest, his home hidden under a bunch of undergrowth, an old cabin that had been abandoned for many years, becoming one with nature, it had somehow been found, and Osamu had no choice but to run this time, for he could not fight during the day.

He had gathered as much as he could, and wrapped himself in as much clothing as possible to hide himself from the sun before running out the back door. He had to force his way through some of the humans, though he could feel his power weakening, his inhuman strength and speed dwindling, the sun weakening his vampiric abilities. He wondered why the humans attacked now of all times, before the sun were to set, and Osamu would be able to reign over the night once more. Perhaps they thought they could kill him swiftly before nightfall, or they had been so consumed with rage by the vampire’s existence that they had all lost rational thought and came to find him.

Running through the underbrush, the forest floor crunching beneath his frantic steps, Osamu could feel his speed slow down as each minute passed, and the village people had been scattered everywhere, trying to get their hands on him. Pitch forks, fire, stakes, and an assortment of other weapons, they had everything.

“He’s over here!”

“Get him!”

“Monster!”

“Demon!”

“Vampire!”

“Kill him!”

There were so many voices at once, all mixing together, drowning each other out, but only one, simple message was the consensus of these people: fear. They were all afraid of something that was more powerful than them, something that was beyond their understanding and control, and that fear was replaced with hatred and rage.

It appeared as though the entire village was there, all chasing after the vampire, all having the same intention. Osamu believed that he could get away easily, and he had managed to lose most of the humans, however, once he stopped for a few moments, he turned to see two of the vampire hunters, one of them being Thomas, positioned to the right of himself, and the other one was one of his partners, Viktor, who stood in front of him.

Viktor suddenly grabbed Osamu and tossed him to the ground, causing the vampire to grunt as he hit the dirt bedding the forest floor. He immediately turned to sit up and face the large man, though he had kicked him to the ground again before he could make any other movement.

Osamu glanced to Thomas, who had his crossbow pointed at him. He could see it deep in Thomas’ eyes, that worry, that questioning gaze, wondering just why the vampire was unable to get away this time when he was always easily able to. Osamu was supposed to be far more powerful than humans, but he had neglected to tell Thomas that the sunlight could not only kill him, but weaken him as well. There were many things Osamu had not told Thomas, even though they had been together for a few years now. He knew that Thomas would not breath a word of his whereabouts to anyone else, but he had been discovered somehow.

He did not say anything, but only narrowed his eyes at Viktor.

“Viktor, we should take him in for interrogation, yeah? Killing him without any answers is not a good idea, and I don’t think Luciano would agree with this. We finally have him after all these years.” Thomas was the first to speak.

Viktor glanced to Thomas, his gaze cold and indifferent. Thomas told Osamu that he was always short with words, and not one to socialize. There was a reason for his deep hatred towards vampires, though Thomas had never found out why, but the man was convinced that Viktor had his reasons.

Viktor suddenly raised the crossbow in his arms, pointing the tip of the sharp stake loaded into the weapon at Osamu’s heart.

“No!” Knowing what Viktor was going to do, Thomas threw himself on top of the vampire, and before Osamu could react, the sickeningly sweet scent of blood overflowed his senses, his ears immediately picking up on the other’s heartbeat, becoming aware of the dark fluid that flowed through his veins, his sharp, pointed fangs involuntarily protruding between his lips.

“Thomas?” He breathed out in disbelief, watching as scarlet droplets fell from the human’s chest, landing onto the dark fabric of his clothing before he slumped over on top of him.

The vampire could hear Viktor snort softly. He looked up at him, his crimson gaze full of hunger and fury.

Osamu reached out next to him, where Thomas had discarded his crossbow upon protecting him with his own life, and grabbed the weapon.

Before Viktor could react, Osamu had already embedded a stake into the hunter’s stomach, causing him to stumble back.

Carefully placing Thomas down on the ground next to him, Osamu stood up and lunged at Viktor, hissing angrily, and the hunter lunged back, meeting him halfway. Both men collided into each other, immediately trying to gain the upper hand. They struggled under each other’s hold, Osamu holding back Viktor’s weapon, and Viktor doing the same with his. Reading the hunter’s expression, Osamu could see all of his pent up anger and pain. He does not recall seeing him before, but perhaps he had done something to the other in the past, or he had blamed all vampires for whatever had happened to him. Relying on his own strength, Osamu managed to force the crossbow to Viktor’s stomach and launch another stake into him before forcing the hunter onto the ground. Kicking the other’s weapon out of reach, he rested a foot on the man’s chest and pointed the crossbow to his head.

Faintly, he could hear Thomas speak. “Don’t do it. Don’t kill him, please.”

Osamu could see that Viktor was awaiting death, challenging the vampire to end him, but after moments of hesitation that seemed to linger on for far too long, the vampire tossed the crossbow to the side, and left the hunter. He went over to Thomas’ side and knelt down beside him before scooping the human up into his arms and leaving the injured hunter behind, not bothering to look back.

Although Thomas was little harder to carry with his abilities weakened, he was still determined to get away from the humans with him. Surely, Viktor would make sure that both of their lives ended upon witnessing Thomas’ betrayal of the hunters, and so, the vampire carried him until he finally found a safe place.

Lying Thomas down onto a soft bed of grass, Osamu sat down next to him, and carefully placed the human’s head on his lap. Looking down at the other’s messy hair, the tanned man facing away from him while he lay, watching the sun finally set behind the horizon. Osamu gently brushed his fingers through auburn locks, listening as Thomas’ heartbeat slowed, and there was no way to save him. No one would help, and he had nothing to help him with. There was only one possible way to save him, but it was risky.

“Why did you save me? I am just a vampire. I do not deserve to be saved.” Osamu found himself speaking in question, his voice slightly hoarse with emotion, unaware of how much the other’s faint heartbeat deeply affected him, knowing death was ready to curl its black, clawed fingers around Thomas and take the human away from him.

Thomas coughed, a trickle of blood starting to flow down his chin as he struggled to move, and rest the back of his head on the vampire’s lap.

“You said it yourself. Every life is worth saving, especially your’s, dollface.”

“I said only important lives.” He mumbled in protest.

“You are important, just like any other living creature. Every life is. I realize that now, Osamu. That’s why I’m asking yo-” he had to pause in order to cough again, “I’m asking you not to hurt them. I know you would. Don’t be angry. They don’t understand, they’re just afraid. They’re afraid of you hurting them.” He wheezed softly as he took each breath, and Osamu knew that the human was struggling to breath. “Prove them wrong.”

“I do not want you to leave me. I do not want to be alone again.” He whispered.

Thomas reached up and lightly cupped the vampire’s cheek. “You don’t have to be.”

“I-” He was cut off when Thomas looked towards the sunset again with half-lidded eyes.

“It looks beautiful, doesn’t it? I’m glad to see it with you.” His voice grew fainter.

Blinking, Osamu looked up towards the sunset, the final moments of light irritating any of his skin that started to burn from exposure, but he ignored any of the pain he felt. He was never one for sunsets or the natural beauty of nature, but seeing it with Thomas was different.

“It’s not as pretty as your face though.” Thomas added.

“This is not the time to be joking.” Osamu retorted.

“I’m not joking, it’s the truth.”

“Of course,” he responded in slight disbelief.

They remained there in silence while the vampire continued to gently run his fingers through Thomas’ hair, and as each moment passed, Osamu could hear his heartbeat grow fainter and fainter as he struggled to live.

It was agonizing, being unable to help the other, to have him slowly slip from his grasp without being able to do anything, without healing him, without exacting his revenge on the villagers. He had to sit there and watch the only man who could ever understand him, who could ever love him, slip through his grasp.

When Thomas became unresponsive, Osamu began to panic, and in the other’s final moments, he thought of something, but he knew of the consequences that may follow. He knew of what would happen, but he still went through with it. Osamu changed Thomas into a vampire, into what he was, but for years he would follow him mindlessly, one of the side effects from a vampire changing a human. It was fairly common for turned vampires to regain their memories and turn on their masters though, and so Osamu went through with it, believing that Thomas’ mind would be able to break through it.

He had never been more wrong.

Hearing the tea cup “clink” against the glass of the coffee table was what brought Osamu back to the present, after his mind had forced him to relive that entire horrible night in the past.

“It’s one in the morning, I brought you some blood.”

Osamu sighed, and only nodded to Thomas in response. He did not pick up the cup, his eyes were only focused on the other vampire, that desire to bring him back still influencing him, even though he told himself to give up long ago.

“Do you remember how we first met, Thomas?”

“No, I do not remember anything before you changed me, it is only natural not to, but you have told me before. Do you wish to tell me again?”

Osamu leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. Sometimes he hoped that reminding Thomas of the past would help bring him back, but it never did. Yet, he still found himself telling the mindless man anyways.“Well, back when you were a hunter, your goal was to be the one to kill me, because I was a dangerous vampire with a high price on my head, and you were like any other human. You hated me, and you needed the cash.”

“I would never turn on you.”

“I know,” he hesitated, “let me finish.”

The night he had first met Thomas, it was dark, one of the darkest nights of the year, yet the vampire hunters were ready to find him, to do anything to be rid of the accursed vampire that wandered their areas.

Osamu had managed to separate them all, and the one he had decided to face on his own had been Thomas. He still remembers seeing the determination in the former hunter’s crimson eyes, the desire to capture the vampire himself and bring him in. Just like any other human, he believed that Osamu was evil, the vampire could see it all, just as he could tell that this was the first time the human had been on the field fighting vampires.

“You should be at home. This job is for the professionals, or are you the best you supposed “professional hunters" have?” Osamu recalls those being his first words to Thomas, word for word. The vampire tended to tease and mock what he believed was beneath him, and no hunters were able to successfully get rid of him.

He was too strong for them, and no one was much of a challenge, not even Thomas, though there was something about the hunter that caught the vampire’s interest.

“I’ll be sure to beat you to a pulp, vampire.” Those were Thomas’ first words to him.

“Oh? I would like to see you try.”

Not many words were exchanged as Thomas became angry with the vampire and shot at him, which Osamu had evaded with ease. He lead the human on with his manipulative words, and the hunter fell right into his trap, fighting him even though he could easily end the other. However, when the hunter began to talk back, Osamu was surprised.

“Come on, dollface, why don’t you stay still for me?”

“Dollface?” Osamu scrunched up his nose, as though speaking the very nickname was like tasting something bitter.

“Yeah, you heard me. You’ve got a pretty face.”

“What?”

It made no sense for the human to react in such a way when he had only been angry moments before, yet now it appeared as though he was teasing the vampire instead of speaking bitterly towards him. It intrigued Osamu.

While Osamu had been distracted by the comment, Thomas had attempted to hit him across the head with a large wooden stick he had found on the ground, but he had seen it coming at the last moment, and evaded the blow.

“You interest me, perhaps I will keep you around for awhile longer. You are fun to play with.” Those had been Osamu’s last words before he left Thomas to find his way back to the other hunters.

Ever since then, Thomas had kept trying to fight Osamu, and although the human lost every time, he still came back with a different strategy, and talked back to the vampire whenever he tried to manipulate him with his own words. It began to irritate him, that the other had been so unpredictable, different from other humans that normally behaved a certain way.

He could not get into the other’s head, but he still felt himself drawn to the human somehow, a strange rivalry forming between them. Osamu recalls admitting to the other once that he enjoyed how Thomas would argue with him, and talk back differently from most other humans.

Osamu told Thomas of the time they had first met again, plus the other stories of how they fought, and the rivalry they had together at first. By no means had Thomas meant to be friendly to Osamu when the human had been trying to hunt him down, and the vampire had only thought of him as something to play with when he was bored. 

If only he had not bothered to let Thomas live, to allow the other to see the human side that was still left in the vampire. He feels as though that was the moment that turned everything in their relationship.

Osamu had been reminded of this moment in the present, which lead him to yet again go out of his way to try and regain Thomas’ memories, even though every time he does so, he still tells himself that he is gone, that there is no hope after hundreds of years, but some part of himself must not have given up yet.

“Thomas,” Osamu said, moments after walking into his home, shutting the door behind himself as he entered.

“Yes?”

“I brought something for you.”

“For me?”

“Although I hate the idea of this, I believe that you need company while I am gone.” It was an excuse.

“I do not need company. I only wait for you.”

“Yes, you do,” he immediately responded. “Besides, who will take care of her while I am gone?”

“Her.” It was not necessarily a question or a statement that Thomas uttered, he was just unable to convey the emotion correctly without his own personal sense of thought.

Unzipping his jacket, Osamu reached into his coat and pulled out a kitten as white as snow, her eyes as blue as ice. Thomas loved animals, it was his only weakness. It felt as though this was the very last thing balancing Thomas from remaining a mindless servant forever, or his memories finally returning. He was uncertain of this outcome, and had held back on doing this before, for he felt that this was all that was left.

“We should name her Snowball, after the cat we saved together.”

Thomas stood there, completely expressionless. “Whatever you wish.”

“Just-” he stopped himself, feeling as though he was going to snap at the other. He wanted to see Thomas’ face light up again whenever he saw an animal, as though he was seeing everything for the first time, and he wanted to see how happy he always was to hold the creatures in his arms, especially the tiny ones.

“Just hold it.” Osamu pressed the kitten to Thomas’ chest, and the other vampire complied, nodding his head in response before taking the cat.

The animal looked a little uncomfortable, and Thomas only stood there.

“Pet her.” He whispered, though his voice held emotion, as though he was actually demanding the taller man to.

He just wanted to see it, to see Thomas get excited over animals like he always did. He wanted to see something. Some expression. Anything.

Of course the other vampire did exactly as he was told, and began to pet the kitten, though a little roughly.

“Be gentle, you do not want to hurt her.”

“I do not want to.” Thomas quietly repeated, his hands now more gentle as he lightly stroked the kitten with his fingers.

He wanted to see how Thomas looked that one night, the night that brought them together, but nothing was working, and as each moment passed, it frustrated Osamu, it only brought the memory crashing down over him, and his thoughts wandered to the past once more.

“Don’t move.” Osamu muttered into the dark, speaking to the cat that laid in front of his knees, curled up on the ground in the middle of the field, it’s leg awkwardly sticking out from a large cut that ran down it’s side. The vampire did not know how the creature had gotten hurt, but he was determined to save it, for she had kittens, and the kittens were surrounding him as he helped their mother.

He had been carefully working on the animal, taking his time as he stitched the cat’s leg, doing his best to help the creature.

After a few minutes of working on the cat was when he sensed Thomas nearby, likely ready to attack him out of the blue, though Osamu did not waver from his spot, and only continued to help the animal, ignoring the presence of the hunter that wanted to take him down.

To his surprise, Thomas did not come barreling out of the bushes to attack him, but approached him slowly, moving with caution as he got closer.

“I am not going to attack you. I am busy.” He could hear Thomas stop and stand next to him, and he could practically feel the hunter’s eyes on him while he focused on the cat.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I am doing?”

“No, you’re doing it wrong.”

“What? Do not tell me what to do.”

Thomas moved again, and knelt down in front of Osamu, gently brushing the vampire’s hands out of the way as he took the needle and thread. He slowly shook his head, and muttered a quiet, “It’ll do,” before taking over the vampire’s delicate procedure.

After properly stitching up the cat, Thomas looked up to meet the vampire’s gaze. “I don’t get it. Why did you try to save this cat? Aren’t you supposed to be a killer?”

“That is what you humans always assume, do you really know how many people I’ve killed?”

“No?”

“Then why do you hunt me when you humans have no clue what crimes I have committed?”

Thomas appeared to hesitate for a moment, uncertain of how to respond. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Osamu looked to the kittens that swarmed their mother, gently biting her ears and licking her out of concern.

“Every important life is worth saving. She is important, she has a duty that she must fulfill before she can move on. She is a mother, and her children need her.”

“So you really do care about things, huh?”

“I never said that I did not, though I would rather not say that I do.” He admitted, albeit a little awkwardly. He reached down to gently stroke the mother.

“Does she have a home?” Thomas asked.

“Yes, she lives with an old man. Her name is Snowball.”

“You even know her name?”

“Yes, again. Stop asking me so many questions.”

Thomas scooped up one of the kittens and held it in his arms, holding the creature gently and stroking it with a fondness that only an animal lover would truly understand.

“It appears as though I am not the only one with a soft spot.” Osamu smirked.

Thomas chuckled softly as the kitten began to purr and nuzzle up against him, his crimson eyes full of light and joy as he watched the tiny animal. “You’ve got me there.”

That very expression was the one Osamu had hoped to see when he had bought the kitten home, but all he saw were those faded crimson eyes staring down at the animal, expressionless, as though he was staring at the world through fogged glass.

Osamu looked towards the ground, and could feel himself now staring at the world through the fog, much like Thomas appeared to. That was the last straw Osamu had held onto for so long, his last string of hope that he had, and now it was gone. It was just as he feared. The last thing had not worked. What was he to do now? The mindless vampire would forever be a reminder of the mistake he had made, the mistake of saving Thomas’ life, but, this was not Thomas. Thomas was gone now.

“She’s,” Thomas paused, and a look of confusion briefly crossed his features, as though he was having troubles understanding how he was feeling. “Cute?”

Osamu immediately looked up again to see Thomas’ expression, noticing the light slowly returning into his gaze.

Thomas looked to Osamu, their eyes meeting. “But she’s not as cute as you.”

“C-cute?!” He stuttered out.

“Yeah, you heard me, you deaf or somethin’ now, dollface?”

“Did you hit your head against a rock, repeatedly?” Osamu shook his head in disbelief. Now he was clueless as to how Thomas had regained his memories so suddenly after hundreds of years. Pausing, he realized that he did not know exactly how much memory Thomas had regained. “How much do you remember?”

“Remember? I don’t know. Everything’s kind of fuzzy. Did I forget something? Don’t tell me it was our anniversary yesterday? Is that why I’m holding one of Snowball’s kittens? She’s an adorable gift, you really know me well.”

“That’s not- how could that be Snowball's-” Osamu sighed in defeat. “It will come back to you in time.”

Thomas smiled warmly at the kitten in his arms as Osamu approached him. Suddenly, Osamu wrapped his arms around Thomas, making a bold and rare affectionate move to the other vampire. Thomas was clearly caught off guard, but he returned the gesture by wrapping one of his arms around Osamu’s waist, his other still holding onto Snowball.

“You’re acting weird today.”

Osamu stood up on his toes to better reach Thomas as he pressed a kiss to his lips, gently looping his arms around the other’s neck. Thomas gladly returned the kiss, leaning down so Osamu would no longer have to stand on his toes. Much to the distress of the newly adopted kitten, she was trapped between the two, meowing softly in confusion.


End file.
